Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) log book refers to a record of travel that is used to calculate the exact percentage of expenses encountered by motor vehicles. The recording process is simple and takes 12 weeks before the FBT is calculated. The following are the major steps of calculating FBT:
How to record on the logbook
You should follow the following steps when recording in the FBT logbook – electronic:
- Put a beginning and ending date for every trip – It helps to show the daily trips made for the entire period of the logbook.
- Start and end the odometer readings for every road trip separated by business and private – It helps to indicate readings obtained on a daily business and whether it was for business or private purpose.
- Indicate the total number of kilometres for every trip – This number will help in calculating the FBT.
- Provide a brief description of every journey – The description will help to group the journey as either private or public. It also helps to support the information written in the logbook.
- Indicate the start and end dates for the period of the motor vehicle logbook – The dates should have exactly a difference of 12 weeks between them.
- Indicate the start and end odometer readings for that period – The odometer reading for the entire period of the logbook must also be indicated.
- Calculate the sum of kilometres for the entire period separated by private and business – You should then add up all the daily kilometres you obtained to come up with a total for the entire period.
The importance of Fringe benefits to employees
Employees are the beneficiaries of the fringe benefits in many aspects. Some of the advantages are highlighted below:
- Flexibility – Fringe benefits allow employees to be flexible in their work and allows them to decide how to travel and for what purpose and these make them highly motivated.
- Cost-effective – Fringe benefits are cost-efficient since it is only a small percentage which the company can afford without a stretch to its resources.
- Satisfaction – Fringe benefits are meant to motivate the employees of a particular organisation aside from salary. It gives the employees a good working environment where they can plan well for various activities and document them in the logbook. They are then compensated with fringe benefits at the end of the logbook period.
- Loyalty – The issuance of fringe benefits helps to create loyalty in employees to that particular company and they develop a strong feeling of belongingness. This helps to boost their psyche at work and their work performances increase.
- Meeting employee’s requirements – By providing fringe benefits to employees, you are providing them with the opportunity to meet their requirements which they otherwise feel that they are not well represented.
FBT logbooks must be carried by a person whenever and wherever they travel while making sure that they are providing all the information required in time without tempering with any data. The person should be accountable for every detail they provide and be willing to defend their information if the need arises. Most businesses and organisations have now embraced the act of giving fringe benefits to their employees to boost their morale at work and to help them grow profession-wise. It has been proven over time that organisations who give their employees fringe benefits have seen an increase in productivity.
